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Montreal Canadiens Shine Light On NHL’s Officiating Problem, But Don’t Expect a Quick Fix

By Ken MacMillan

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 20: Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens Claude Julien argues his point with referee TJ Luxmore #21 during the third period against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on November 20, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. The Ottawa Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 20: Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens Claude Julien argues his point with referee TJ Luxmore #21 during the third period against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on November 20, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. The Ottawa Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 07: Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens argues with referee . (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 07: Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens argues with referee . (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /

Habs fans, players, coaches irate with officials

The missed calls left the Canadiens players, coaches and fans irate at the conclusion of the game. Brendan Gallagher went after referee Dean Morton following the game, screaming at him and voicing his displeasure about the official’s decisions on the ice. The audio of the screaming match was partially caught on camera, and it clearly showed Morton telling Gallagher off.

Now, we didn’t hear what Gallagher said leading up to Morton’s comment so let’s not condemn the referee for finally replying to being verbally berated. However, it was a bad look for the ref who is supposed to be an impartial juror.

Claude Julien piled on with his comments after the game:

To sum it up, he said someone needs to be held accountable because the Canadiens needed to beat two teams in the game.

It is not a rarity to have an NHL team feel frustrated after a game. Inconsistency and missed calls from officials happen at all levels of the game and in every sport. How often do you see a football player looking around for a flag that hasn’t been thrown after clearly being interfered with on a play? A baseball player staring at the heavens after a called third strike that was well outside the strike zone? Brendan Gallagher smashing his stick over the boards after being told off by an official?

Okay, that last one was pretty unique but every night fans around the NHL are dumbfounded by what they witnessed during a game. And how could they not be? I mean, try to explain the criteria for goaltender interference. How often do we see a defenseman get a penalty for his third cross-check in front of the net after getting away with two identical whacks?

Officials can’t even consistently call too-many men on the ice. What rule could be more black and white than how many players are allowed on the ice? As we saw in the Habs-Stars game Saturday night, getting hit in the face with an opponent’s stick hard enough to open up Domi’s chin wasn’t enough to warrant a penalty.

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